California place kicker Giorgio Tavecchio celebrates his game-winning field goal with 21 second left in the fourth quarter to defeat Arizona State in an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009, in Tempe, Ariz. California won 23-21. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

Giorgio Tavecchio's boyish smile and good-natured personality gave way to momentary rage after one Cal practice this season. He had grown weary of his erratic kicking - sometimes, the ball sailed cleanly through the uprights and other times it disobediently strayed off line.

He struggled mightily in this particular practice, prompting an uncommon outburst afterward.

"I got really angry with myself," Tavecchio said Tuesday. "I was furious - I'd never been so mad in my life. ... I was swearing, kicking the bench. It wasn't me."

Tavecchio returned to his family's Moraga home that night in late September. He talked to his dad, Renato, who reminded him to relax and not let one bad practice ruin his week. Tavecchio began to realize his high expectations - after a solid, out-of-nowhere freshman season as Cal's placekicker - were smothering him.

He had lost his starting job to Vince D'Amato in training camp (Tavecchio handled kickoffs for Cal's first 2 1/2 games), only to regain it when D'Amato was injured Oct. 17 against UCLA. That launched a wild, up-and-down, monthlong ride for Tavecchio, leading him into Saturday's Big Game at Stanford.

D'Amato has since re- covered, but Tavecchio remains Cal's kicker despite some wobbly moments. He converted the game-winning field-goal try Oct. 31 at Arizona State - after earlier booming a 51-yarder and missing two attempts inside 40 yards - and he kicked four field goals in Saturday's victory over Arizona, providing the go-ahead points with 4:46 left.

Tavecchio also made a sprawling tackle on the ensuing kickoff, stopping a long return from becoming much longer. The Bears can only hope they don't need an encore against Stanford; Cal's season-long troubles on kickoff coverage (Tavecchio's kicks seldom carry beyond the 10-yard line) and the presence of Cardinal return man Chris Owusu (34.1-yard average and three touchdowns) suggest a potential problem.

Even so, Tavecchio approaches his field goals with rising confidence after nailing 4 of 5 attempts against Arizona, including two from 46 yards. Tavecchio made some minor adjustments in recent weeks, including taking a slightly wider approach so he would stop pulling the ball.

"I'm in a little more of a rhythm now," he said.

His daily rhythm this season includes making the short drive from Moraga to Berkeley. Tavecchio lived in the dormitories as a freshman, but the $800 monthly cost - he joined Cal's team as a walk-on and hasn't landed a scholarship - convinced him to move back home with his parents and 16-year-old brother Marco, a kicker and soccer player at Campolindo High.

Tavecchio, ever gregarious and charismatic, hopes to return to Berkeley next semester for another slice of college life. He enjoys semi-fame in Moraga, beaming when told the library bulletin board at his old elementary school (Rheem) includes his fifth-grade class photo - with a handwritten note identifying him as Cal's kicker - and a newspaper clipping showing him exulting after the triumphant field goal against Arizona State.

Tavecchio has a big personality but his modest size as a football player sometimes leaves him vulnerable on the field.

A wide-eyed Tavecchio - who stands 5-foot-8 and a "heavy" 170 pounds, as he put it - marveled at the way one Arizona player leveled him on a kickoff Saturday.

He realizes Cal fans wish the kicking game were more reliable - "It's true, we've been inconsistent," he said - but he peers optimistically toward the final two regular-season games and bowl game. He covets the chance to watch his kicks soar obediently into the distance, and he suspects his early-season frustration will prove fruitful in the end.

"It was good for me to regroup a little," Tavecchio said. "I think I needed that."